Tank-siphon.



P. BALZE.

TANK SIPHON.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4, 1913.

1,090,189. Patented Mar.17,1914.

BVM

PAUL IBALZE, 0F LEONIA, NET/V JERSEY.

TANILSIPHON.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, PAUL Blitze, a citizen of the United States, and a resident oit Leonia, in the county oit Bergen and State oi New Jersey, have invented a new and linproved Tank-Siphon, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to water distribu tion, and has particular reference to siphons for periodically delivering fluids, especially water, from tanks.

Among the objects of this invention is to provide a siphon adapted especially for i'lush tanks, the nature ot the siphon being such that it is valveless and hence precludes any possibility oit leakage.

A further object ot this invention is to improve flush tank siphons so as to render them both easier and surer of operation than is usually true of such devices, the arrangement being such that there is no possibility :t'or any movable part olf the device to tail to operate, and also to insure that the siphonic action will be positively initiated as a result of a minimum amount ot' water caused to be passed through the Siphon.

The foregoing and other objects ot this invention will hereinafter be more i'ully de scribed and claimed and illustrated in the drawings 'forming' a part of this specification in which like characters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts ,in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improvement applied to a flush tank, the cover being removed; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2H? of Fig. l; Fifi'. f3 is a bottom plan view of the siphon; Fig. 4l is a transverse section of the same on the line l-t of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a detail in section oit the dome taken at right angles to Fig. 2.

The several parts of the device may be made oft any suitable materials, and the relative sizes and proportions ot the same as well as the general design oi the equipment may be varied to a considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention hereinafter more definitely described and specifically claimed.

I show at 10 a diagrammatic representation of any suitable tank which designed to hold a certain body of water 11 and from which tank the water is to be delivered, when desired, by my improved mechanism. No special means are shown for supplying Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 4, 1913.

Patented Mar. 17, 191.4.

Serial No. 758,811.

the tank with water inasmuch as the same constitutes no part o'l this invention. This device will bc understood as being adapted especially :tor closet tlush tanks ol either the lowwdown or high types, but is useful also in other relations.

.At l2 l show the principal part o'tl my siphon mechanism, the same comprising a siphon ll and a chamber l-/t integral therewith. .is shown in the drawings, the siphon comprises a short leg' .l5 and a long leg` 'lt separated by a wall 17 which is shown as integral with the other part of the siphon and extends upwardly from the base 1S. The two legs of the siphon are connected by a hemispheri lal dome 19. The wall 17 is tlat and straight and its upper edge is horizontal and constitutes a diameter ot' said hemispherical dome 19. No matter, therefore, how little water passes through the siphon initially, it will .tlow over said edge in a sheet as wide as the wall 17. i

The chamber ist substantially sector shaped and is ot' any suitable width. shown substantially as wide as the main portion oi' the siphon. The bottom et the chamber 11i is open except as stated below, and is prow vided with a recess 2O at its lower outer edge. It will be noted, therel'ore, that the bottom of the chamber is spaced, as shown at 2l., from the bottoni o't the tank. The upper portion o'l the chamber con'ununieatcs directly with the lower end o'ti the short leg l5. A vane 22 is pivoted at at the center oil curvature o'l the chamber and is movable freely within the same through an angle of substantially 90 degrees. The vane normally lies opposite or within the open bottom oi the chamber and with its lree end below the recess 9.0 above relerred to.

As shown especially in Fig. 4t, the main siphon is preferably of a cylindrical form, the same being divided into two substantially equal semi-circles in cross section by the wall 17. The lower end ot' thc long leg merges, however, into a cylindrical spud 24, through which the siphon mechanism is connected to and extends through the bottom ot the tank 10. The relative sizes o'l the spud and the siphon legs may vary to a certain extent in Practice, but I prefer to construct the same so as to preserve a ratio between the diameters ot the spud and the combined siphon legs o't substantially 2 to 3. The cross sectional area, theret'ore, ot the spud will be approximately equal to the cross sectional area of either leg or perhaps a little less. As shown especially in Fig. 2, the spud is offset outwardly from the wall or center of the siphon structure whereby I' provide a substantially flat shelf or ledge 25 at the base of the wall 17. lt will be apparent, therefore, that the minimum amount of water flowing over the horizontal top of the wall 17 will flow down and strike against said ledge 25 and splash outwardly across the top of the spud and radially of its axis and thereby cause the starting of the siphonic action because of the exclusion of air tending under such circumstances to rise within the longer leg. The central portion 25 of said ledge may be comparatively narrow, but because of the flared portions at 25 where said ledge merges into the spud proper, the water flowing down along the edges of the wall will be caused to dash or splash diagonally toward the axis of the spud as indicated by the arrows on Fig. 4L, insuring the prompt and certain action of the siphon starter with a minimum quantity of water flowing initially over the wall.

Any suitable mechanism may be used to swing the vane around its pivot 23 and cause a portion of the water normally within the chamber to be lifted or pushed over the top of the wall 17. As shown herein by way of illustration of any such suitable mechanism, l provide an arm 26 connected to the pivot 23, and a rod 27 is pivotally connected at its ends to said arm and a crank 28 mounted upon a rock shaft 29. Said shaft is shown journaled in the walls of the tank and may be operated by a pendent handle 30 as is customary in low-down flush tanks. lVlien the handle 30 is swung in either direction, the vane will be caused through the connections indicated to be swung upwardly, and though the vane is loosely fitted within the chamber 11i, a suflicient quantity of water will be lifted and caused to How over the top of the wall 17 to insure initiation of the siphonic action. lVhen the water is thus caused to flow through the siphon, the flow will lift the vane substantially against the wall 17 if the action of the operator is not sufficient to do so, allowing free outflow of the water into and through the chamber. As soon as the flow of water through the siphon ceases, the vane will be restored automatically to its normal position, allowing the water entering the tank to find its intended level within the chamber and short leg, the same entering the chamber through the open bottom and the recess 20. By providing a loose lit between the edges of the vane and the inner walls ofthe chamber, the device may be made much cheaper and. operated much more reliably than if an attempt be made to provide a close t.

Flush tanks as usually made and operated are so arranged that after the siphon is once started, practically all of the water will be drawn from the tank, occasioning in many cases an unnecessary use of water with the accompanying expense in such localities where water is paid for according to the number of cubic feet consumed. ln order, therefore, to variably determine the amount of water to be delivered from the tank in a simple and reliable manner, l employ a tube 31 open at its lower end and connected at its upper end with the interior of the dome. Said upper end is connected in any convenient manner, as shown at 32, passing through the wall of said dome. Said tube is preferably made of flexible material such as lead or other suitable metal. As soon as the level of the water within the tank is reduced to the lower end of the pipel, air will be admitted upwardly through the same into the dome 19, breaking the siphon. Byk bending upwardly the lower end of said pipe the amount of water to be delivered will be reduced inasmuch as the amount to be delivered according to any adjustment of the pipe will be represented by the vertical distance between the normal surface of the water and the level of said lower end of the pipe. The excess of water within the tank, therefore, will simply be retained and serve to constitute a part of the water again filling the tank.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: j

l. In a device of the character set forth, the combination with a tank, of siphon mechanism therefor comprising a valveless siphon and connected chamber, the siphon and chamber being of substantially the same width, the lower end of the longer leg of the siphon merging into a spud fittedw in and extending through the bottom of the tank, said longer leg where it merges into the spud on the side thereof adjacent the shorter leg providinO a substantially horizontal ledge, said legs being separated by a flat wall having a straight horizontal upper edge and means movable within the chamber to cause a portion of water to be delivered through the Siphon and caused to flow in a sheet over said horizontal edge and splash upon said ledge and thence across the center of the spud.

2. In a tank siphon, the combination of a cylindrical structure comprising longer and shorter legs connectedv at their upper ends by a hemispherical dome and separated by a straight flat square-topped vertical wall, each of said legs in cross section being substantially semi-circular, a cylindrical spud formed at the lower end of the longer leg and having its axis offset outwardly from said wall, there being provided at the bottom of the longer leg between thespud and the wall a flat horizontal ledge, a chamber constituting an extension of said shorter leg and having an open bottom and a recess at its outer edge, and means movable within the chamber to cause a portion of water t0 be forced through the shorter leg and initially in a sheet over the top of said wall whence it falls upon said ledge and splashes radially toward the axis of the Spud, saicl movable means lying normally below said recess and operating out of contact with the 10 inner walls of the chamber.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing` witnesses.

PAUL BALZE.

Vitnesses:

GEO. L. BEELER, CHARLES HARBER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

